Torpedo-shield.



S. D. ROBlNS.

TOHPEDO SHIELD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14. 19w.

Patented May 21, 1918.

SAMUEL DAVIS ROBINS, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

TORI'EDO-SHIELD.

inserts.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented May 211, 19118 Applicationfiled July 14, 1917 Serial No. 180,635.

vTo all whom it may camera:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL DAVIS ROBINS,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Stamford, in the county ofFairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in 'Iorpedo Shields, of which the following 1s a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to torpedo shields of a kind adapted to be carriedby a ship for the purpose of preventmg torpedoes and floating missilesfrom reaching the hull of the vessel.

More particularly stated, my invention comprehends a number of separatemctalllc plates, carried by the shlp, andspaced from the hull thereof,each plate while in use extending into the'water and being so formed andmounted as to possess a certain amount of flexibility or freedom ofmovement, and yet to maintain a proximate normal vertical position ofgreat stability while the ship is traveling ahead. In other Words, theplates are so suspended in the water that, as the ship moves forward,the drag of the water upon each plate has a tendency to hold the platein stable equilibrium. Each plate is thus so arranged that any departurefrom its normal position is characterlzed by an increased amount ofresistance or drag.

In order that the principle underlymg my invention may be readilyunderstood, I Wlll explain briefly some of the difliculties which,

have been found to exist and which I seek to overcome. In theconstruction of a torpedo shield of the general type here contemplated,there 1s advantage in using a number of separate metallic plates, eachof homogeneous form and mounted with a certain degree of flexibility orfreedom of movement relat vely to other plates andto the hull of thevessel. If the plates are allowed too much freedom of movement, however,they cease to be effective as shields, and various other troubles arelikely to develop. It is a difficult matter to so arrange the platesthat they Wlll oper ate equally well whether the vessel be stationary ormoving ahead, and whether the speed of the vessel be rapid or slow.

lfhe reason for allowing the plates a 11mited amount of freedom ofmovement is to prevent undue strains upon the sh1p and the hoisting gearassociated with the plates, and

also to avoid affecting the course of the vessel. To allow for therolling and lateral movements of the vessel, the plates must be allowedfreedom to swing.

In some instances the plates have each been hung from horizontal hingesto which the plate was connected by itsupper edge.

It was found by trial, however, that with this arrangement the platesdid not have enough stability. They came tothe surface Whenever thevessel changed its course, or

even when the plates were subjectedto the almost constant action ofwaves, swells and eddies. In fact, it was found impossible to keep themin vertical position,

If the plate be mounted upon vertical hinges connected to its forwardedge instead of its top edge the plate will trail properly with thevessel in motion or even changing its course, but in this event theplatedoes not hang in stableequilibriumby its own Weight and thisarrangement offers no protection against a torpedo when not in afore-and-aft position.

Again, if the cial mounting, so as to hang from one edge and also totrail rearwardly, a complication of mechanism is necessitated whichcauses many troubles to make their appearance.

By my invention I seek to suspend the plate from hinges connected toonly one of its edges, the form and arrangement of the at any time.

plate be supported by a spe parts being such that the plate is given alland that the invention may assurneany other form contemplated by the lawof equivalents.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification,

and in which like letters indicate like parts in all of the figures.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary" side elevation of a ship equipped with thisimproved torpedo shield.

tion through the ship and shows how the .110 Fig. 2 is a substantiallycentral cross sec;

that the form presented is merely typical, i

' The forward edge is parallel to the rear.

platesaresupp orted and spaced from the sides thereof.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective ofone of the plates and itsmountings.

The hull of the vessel appears at 4, therudder thereof being shown at 5and the propeller at 6.

The vessel is shown as traveling to the left according to Fig. 1, asindicated by the arrow shown in this figure. A number of metallic plates7 are each provided with, a bottom edge .8, a top edge 9, 'aforward edgelOand a rear edge 11.

edge 11 ,and these edges are each perpendicular to. the bottom edge 8.The top edge 9, however, is inclinedrelatively to the other edg'e's,"soas toslant forwardly downward 17 journaled to the side of the vessel.Cross when the plate is in position.

'Each plateis's mounted as to swing upon an axis the projection of which.upon the plane of the sea is parallel to the keel of p the ship, theaxis being inclined, however, so that its forward end is lower than itsafter of this rod extend through the outer or free ends of two arms14,15. The opposite ends of these arms are by means of bearings 16,

braces 18, 19 extend from one of the arms to the other, and serve toprevent these arms from swinging except in planes contemplated by theformfof the bearings 16, 17.

Connected to the outer or free ends of the arms 14, 15 are cords 20, 21,which engage pulleys 22, 23 and together therewith con stitutethehoisting gear for raising and lowering the plate;

The parts are shown as in normal position. The plates are now down, andeach extends into the water 24 to a suitable depth, which may bedifferent for ships of different size and character, and may be variedby aid of the hoisting gear. 1 V j p By pulling upon the cords 20, 21the plate may be raised out of the water. The cords 20,21 are arrangedin. pairs, one pair for sired," but are preferably about twenty feetxlongp v eachp lat'e, so that the'plates may be raised orloweredindependently of the others. Thearms l4,15'may be of any length de- Theso loii'gi theIve'ssel remains stationary,

operation of 'iny device isias folswing more or less, but not enough todi- 'minish' materially the shielding effect of the plates.

Suppose, next, that the vessel is moving to the left according to Fig.1, as indicated by the arrow. The forward motion of the "vessel ofcourse causes the water to exert a drag upon the plates. Each plate thushas a tendency to trail, because the forward support for the plate is alittle lower than the after support. 7

To the extent that the plate swings laterally, it swings upon an .axisthe projection of which, upon the plane of the sea, is parallel to theheel of the ship, but the forward end of which is lower than its afterend. To

the extent that the, plate swings laterally,

it must swing upon the axis just mentioned,

. and in so doing is necessarily carried a trifle forward. Therefore anydeparture of a plate from its normal vertical position is Icharacterized by an increase in the resistance or drag of the water, andthe plate is thus effectively stabilized.

To make the application of this principle clear, glance at any one ofthe plates 21 shown in Fig. 1, and, imagine such plate to be turned,upon its axis of rotation just mentioned, until completely inverted. It

will be found that the turning of the plate is accompanied by a slightforward displacement of the plate, relatively to the hull. of the ship.Therefore the plate while hanging naturally in its lowermost position isalways in its extreme position toward the rear and therefore in itsposition of greatest stability. In other words, the position which theplate tends to assume in consequence of its being dragged forwardlythrough the water is the same position ittends to assume from its ownweight, even if the ship be stationary and this is the verticalposition. Thus the action of gravity and the motion of the vesselcoincide to hold the plate in a vertical position of stable equilibrium.This vertical position of the plate is the only one in which the.plateis subjected to a minimum of resistance by the water. Any deviation ofthe-plate from its normal or verticalposition increases the resistanceof the water. j I

Thus while the plate has sufiicient flexibility or freedom of motion, toenable itto move or yield when'necessary, it does not move to asufficient extent to seriously impair its, function shielding the shipas against attacks by torpedoes. The manner in which torpedoes arecaused to explode in strikinga barrier of any kind is well-known. and.needs no description here. My shield, made up. of plates of the kindabove described, acts for this purpose pedo is discharged.

I. do not limit. myself to the precise hoist-- ing or supportingmechanism here shown, as variations may be made therefrom withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, as defined in my claims.

I claim 1. The combination, with a ship, of a plate carried thereby andhanging loosely by its own weight into the sea, said plate being sosuspended that when the ship moves forward the drag of the water uponthe plate has a tendency to force the plate into a vertical position ifaccidentally displaced therefrom.

2. The combination, with a ship, of a plate supported by said ship andhanging into the sea for the purpose of preventing torpedoes fromstriking said ship, said plate being mounted to swing upon an axis whoseprojection upon the plane of the sea is parallel to the keel of theship, the forward end of said axis being lower than its after end.

8. In a device of the character described the combination, with a ship,of a pair of arms mounted thereupon and extending laterally therefrom,and a plate supported by said arms and mounted to swing upon an axiswhose projection upon the plane of the sea is parallel to the keel ofthe ship, the forward end of said axis being lower than the after endthereof.

4. The combination of a sea-going vessel, a plate disposed parallelthereto and extending into the sea, and means for so supporting saidplate from said vessel that as Said vessel travels through the water thebackward drag of the water upon said plate holds said plate in stableequilibrium.

5. The combination of a ship, a plate disposed adjacent thereto andextending into the sea, and means for so supporting said plate from saidship that said plate normally maintains a predetermined position ofgreat stability, any departure from said predetermined position tendingto increase the drag of said plate as it is drawn through the water.

6. The combination of a sea-going vessel, arms journaled thereupon andoverhanging the sea, one of said arms being located slightly higher thananother, a rod supported by said arms and inclined relatively to thehorizon, the lower end of said rod extending in the normal direction offorward travel of said vessel, and a protecting plate carried by saidarms and depending into the sea.

7. The combination, with a ship, of a plurality of protecting platessupported by said ship and hanging into the sea for the purpose ofpreventing torpedoes from striking said ship, each plate being mountedto swing'upon an axis whose projection upon the plane of the sea isparallel to the keel of the ship, the forward end of said axis beinglower than the after end thereof, and means for raising and loweringsaid plates independently of each other.

8. The combination of a sea-going vessel, arms journaled thereupon andoverhanging the sea, the after one of said arms being located slightlyhigher than the other, an axis supported by said arms at their outerextremities and inclined at a suitable angle with the waterline, theforward end of said axis being lower than the after end thereof, aprotecting plate of suitable dimensions supported by said axis andhanging into the sea, hoisting and adjusting mechanism connected withsaid plate and controllable from said ship for raising and lowering saidplates independently of each other.

9. The combination, with a ship, of a plate carried thereby and hangingloosely by its own weight into the sea so that when the ship isstationary said plate occupies a predetermined normal position, saidplate being so suspended that when the ship moves forward the drag ofthe water upon the plate has a tendency to restore said plate to saidnormal position whenever accidentally displaced therefrom.

S. DAVIS RUBTNS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

